Decent EQ unit to run out of my Mic Pre-amp ?

hello-
I am looking for a reasonable rack EQ, not super cheap, but not Manley or Weiss. Ideally $500 or under

I have searched quite a few ways to answer this but have found no similar questions/answers

I'm thinking about running from my mic preamp, into rack EQ, then maybe to my RNC compressor and then to soundcard. This will be an experiment for my guitar recording, mic'ing a Marshall with an
SM57. If it turns out I don't need it , I can still have the EQ for other uses. I just want to explore all my options.

For $1600 (less than half a Manley or Weiss), you can get a Midas XL42. It's a pair of EQ strips from the XL4 board (and a pair of XL4 preamps, which do +70dB of gain, thrown in for the bargain).

That's definitely more than $500, but also less than Manley, Weiss, or even Amek. Here's Mix Online's review of the XL-42 . Because it's a stereo channel in 1U with 4-band para-EQ, the knobs are a little tight, but that's a feature, not a bug.

P.S.

If it's good enough to be k.d.lang's "money channel", it's good enough for me!

hello-
I looked up and read about the Speck and it looks perfect for me.

but they have two versions, one with Transformer and one without. (that one's cheaper) Whats all that mean? My whole setup is pretty much Unbalanced so I don't know if it matters. I mean my VBT-1 is balanced but my RNC is not, so one unbalanced piece in the chain blows it all anyway right?

here's a Speck webpage from some local dealer, halfway down is the ASC where it has those two options

The Speck is a great eq low budget or otherwise. The transformer option isolates the eq from other gear in the signal path but with most modern gear this is not much of an issue. It is there more for added color/flavor and without it you get a more "pure" tone which some prefer and some don't

I liked the Speck very much and was heartbroken when I had to return them. If I recall correctly, the ASC retails at around $1000 per channel. IMO, this is a pro piece of gear! I personally like the sound with the transformer in the audio output path. I'm a "the sound is in the iron" kinda guy.

As far as the balanced and unbalanced issue, the ASC will perform well in either mode. This is not an issue anyhow and even many large format consoles like MCIs employ unbalanced inserts. If you have a balanced patchbay and hook your unbalanced gear up to it using unbalanced (2 conductor) cables, the proper terminations will automatically be made. If you are forced to use balanced cable runs for some reason, just see to it that the plug at the unbalanced end is terminated with the cold (-) wire attached to the ground shield. The sending or reciving piece will balance the signal and you will not suffer any signal strength loss.

Hi guys what about the Audioarts units? a local engeneer around here I chated with has one and likes it alot and he has a rack with Sontec and Tubetech EQs in it. They typically sell around 100 or a little more all the time. Has anyone used one?

If this is the older Audioarts, it is real decent stuff and was the big thing next to the Blue Orban stuff 20+ years ago. If the unit has clean pots and has been re-capped it should do a very nice job. I've owned and used the various Orban eq units (and the comps. reverb ect) many times over the years and it is indeed above average stuff.